


(I'm Nowhere if I'm Here) Without You

by beautifultargetslove



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Spy!AU, just them being badass and loving each other, not too terrible violence but there is blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23366779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifultargetslove/pseuds/beautifultargetslove
Summary: “You can’t save everyone all the time.”“But-”“You’re hurting Hyunjoon more by blaming yourself.” Jacob doesn’t want to play this card but he’s not getting through. Kevin’s softest spot is for the maknae line. “He’s worried about you and doesn’t want you to feel guilty.” Kevin winces.Jacob’s voice gets soft. “No one is blaming you, Kevin. You couldn’t have known.”Kevin nods and Jacob thinks he’s finally listening.But then.“You don’t know what these people are like, Jacob. Even if it’s one guy, he’s dangerous. And I brought him into our lives.”Jacob admires Kevin for many reasons. One of them is that he still retains his light after mixing with the darkest of people. But pretending can take a toll on even Kevin after a while.He takes Kevin’s hand, causing the other to look at him. “I can’t take your guilt away from you, unnecessary as it is. But I will share it with you.”spy!AU of The Boyz as they rush to stop a villain, save one of their own, and halt a revenge plot, all while staying tight-knit and safe in each other.
Relationships: Bae Joonyoung | Jacob/Moon Hyungseo | Kevin, Ju Haknyeon/Kim Sunwoo, OT12, but the really big ones are
Comments: 47
Kudos: 156





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Buckle up, because this is going to be a long ride lol

“What can you see?”

“Nothing much, it’s hella dark. Can’t see fucking anything-”

“Language!”

Sunwoo rolls his eyes, even though he knows Jacob will never see. “We’re not kids anymore, hyung. I think we should be allowed to curse if we’re allowed to kill.”

“Well I’d rather you try not to do either if you can help it,” Jacob huffs. Younghoon snorts in laughter but smothers it with a cough when Jacob glares at him.

“Yes sir!” Sunwoo says cheerfully but he knows they’re going to have this same conversation many more times. If not with him, it’ll be Eric swearing over the headset next and Jacob will never get a break.

“Can you guys focus please?” Sangyeon pinches the bridge of his nose. This is supposed to be an easy, no-nonsense, retrieval mission. They’ve done it a hundred times before and each time it’s like pulling teeth to get them to be serious. Of course, he wouldn’t trade it for anything but still. They just get distracted so  _ easily. _

“We’re almost there, don’t worry,” Changmin says absently, having actually been concentrating this time. Paired with Chanhee, they’re a mess that gets the job done but with Sunwoo? He’s good at keeping the younger in line.

“You may want to hurry.” Hyunjoon’s voice suddenly crackles to life, having been silent up until now. “You’ve got company.”

“Oh come on-”

“How long?” asks Changmin.

“They’re on the fifth floor so not long.”

_ Shit.  _ They’re in the basement now, the escape route only minutes from their location, but they haven’t found what they needed. Changmin doesn’t like leaving things unfinished.

“I thought it was supposed to be empty,” Sunwoo hisses. Their stealthy hands have gotten quicker, going through file after file in hopes of locating the right one.

Sangyeon frowns. “It was. No one was supposed to be there.”

“Third floor.” Hyunjoon’s eyes are locked on the approaching figures. He’s stationed at the neighboring building, the eyes from above. The one with the best aim and their team’s elite sniper, Hyunjoon knows it won’t be a problem to take these guys out. The problem however, is that they don’t know if that would trigger something else.

“We’re right out front when you’re ready,” Younghoon cautions. Jacob is in the seat beside him, sitting on his hands to stop him from chewing his fingernails. Jacob never goes on missions; not really. He’s their resident doctor and always stays in the car during these things in case someone gets hurt and needs immediate treatment.

It’s easy to stitch up a bullet wound or mend a broken leg but it never gets easier sending his members into these missions.

“How have we not found it by now?” Sunwoo goes through the cabinets even faster in his frustration. “Like, I know it won’t be right on top but still, we’ve literally gone through them all.”

“Good thing we only have one last one to go,” comments Changmin dryly. “It’s gotta be there.”

“Second floor.”

Sunwoo sees the red lettering and slides it out hesitantly. This has to be the right one. 

“Found it!” He waves it around excitedly, ignoring Changmin’s half-hearted shushs.

“Then why are you still there? Get out,” Younghoon says. He’s the getaway driver, knowing backroads and shortcuts like the back of his hand. He gets places in record time, managing to get around completely undiscovered.

He’s also one of the only members that has his driver’s license, so that does help.

“We’re coming, we’re coming.” Changmin takes the file and tucks it into the inside pocket of his jacket. “I didn’t realize you missed us that much.”

“Only because Kevin is cooking tonight and I’m starving.”

“I’ve been looking forward to it too,” Jacob agrees. Kevin had been gone for about two months on an undercover mission. He’s the best secret agent out of them all, able to change his personality at the drop of a hat. It takes a lot to catch him off guard.

And Jacob wasn’t able to see him when he got back, having to go on a run that same time. When he got back, Kevin was asleep and was up earlier than him the next morning, off for his own training. Now it’s day three and Jacob is determined to finally see him.

“Well then hurry up, Haknyeon and Eric just got back,” Sangyeon tells them. He’s at their base right now, along with the other remaining six. This run wasn’t a top priority so only five of them had to go. Juyeon had been helping Sangyeon monitor them in the beginning but left to take another call.

“And you just  _ know _ they’re gonna eat everything,” Sunwoo whines, shoving his gun back in his holster as Changmin climbs out the window. He twists his body to fit through the thin space and once he’s safely on the other side, he lifts it more so that Sunwoo can get through.

They make their way to the car casually, even if no one’s around. Sunwoo knocks on the door three times and it opens.

“Success?” Jacob turns around in his seat, checking them for any noticeable injuries. “Is anyone hurt?”

“Just my pride,” answers Sunwoo.

“So nothing important,” Changmin teases, laughing at Sunwoo’s shove.

Younghoon ignores their antics as he starts the car and checks his earpiece. “Alright Hyunjoon, we’re ready to go. Meet us at the front?”

There’s quiet and Younghoon frowns. “Hyunjoon, did you hear me?” Still there’s no answer, not even the sound of breathing, and warning bells start to go off in Sangyeon’s head.

“Hyunjoonie?” Jacob tries. If something happens where they’re not able to talk, there’s a button on their earpieces to alert them. None of them had gotten the signal.

Sunwoo and Changmin have quieted down in the backseat, realizing something is wrong.

“What was the last read we got on him?” Jacob’s voice is tight and Sangyeon goes through the motions.

“Nothing seems to be wrong, he’s still in his same position. One second- Juyeon!”

Juyeon is at the door immediately. “What’s up?”

“Help me get a read on Hyunjoon- he’s not answering but still seems to be in position.” Sangyeon double-checks Hyunjoon’s tracker but it’s still in the same place. “You guys didn’t hear anything?”

“Nothing,” Younghoon says. They hadn’t heard any sounds of a struggle or a fight. 

Juyeon starts to get to work. His fingers fly over the keyboard, trying to get into any cameras on site so they can see what’s going on.

Juyeon is the hacker. He breaks into any computer, phone, safe- whatever they need. He knows his way around a computer better than anyone, the most technologically savy of them all.

This time, it’s not a matter of not being able to break into something to see but the fact that there’s nothing around to break into.

“Nothing’s close by for us to see,” Juyeon says, frowning at the screen. “No cameras.”

“Shit,” Sangyeon mutters under his breath. It seems like Hyunjoon is still there physically but then why is he not responding?

“What do we do?” Juyeon looks up in worry. Sangyeon searches for an answer and is about to respond when there’s a faint beeping.

Younghoon and Jacob look at each other. It’s the alert system and since Hyunjoon is the only other one on the line, it has to be him.

“He can’t talk,” Changmin says grimly. “He’s been compromised.”

“At least we know he’s still there,” Jacob says, slightly relieved. Hyunjoon is alive.  _ For now. _

Jacob hates that he thought that last part.

“I’m going up.” Sunwoo starts to tug at the car’s handle.

“Um, says who?” Changmin yanks him back. “You can’t go up alone.”

“But he needs me! And it’s easier just as one person. We may run into a fight.”

“Not everything ends in fighting,” Sangyeon says.

“In this world it does. And I’m going after him.”

As much as Sangyeon hates to admit it, that’s the best choice they have. It would take too long to send someone else there and they have valuable information that needs to be looked after. Jacob won’t fight and Younghoon is strong but untrained. Changmin can’t leave them unguarded to go with Sunwoo.

A sigh. “He’s right.”

“Sangyeon-” Jacob starts but he knows the elder is right. He knew Sunwoo would go alone as soon as the words left his mouth. They never left anyone behind.

“I’ll call for backup if I need it.” Sunwoo grins reassuringly. Why is it that he’s deathly afraid of ghosts and spiders but jumps into something like this headfirst?

“I’ll have Hyunjae and Haknyeon on standby.” Sangyeon expertly avoids Juyeon’s eyes.

“Be careful, baby,” Jacob cautions. Sunwoo salutes him before opening the door and jumping quickly out of the car. He makes his way to the building, an old abandoned factory. A perfect cover up for something more but it’s a known fact this one is falling apart and no one wants to risk it collapsing at any given moment.

Sunwoo makes his way up the stairs, hugging the wall to avoid creaking. They only lead to the first level where the entire room extends all the way to the roof. The staircase runs along one side, with no handrail and leading to a single door at the top.

It’s an ominous sight but Sunwoo continues without a second thought. With practically the whole building being open, he can see if anyone is coming. Luckily he’s alone for now.

Moving a little bit quicker, he makes it to the top. The door is wooden with rusty hinges and already cracked open a bit. Hyunjoon must have done it so he wouldn’t get stuck.

Pressing an ear to the door, Sunwoo strains to hear for any noise.

It’s silent. Then 

“Fuck off!”  _ Hyunjoon. _

Sunwoo slams the door open, gun drawn and at the ready. Stealth never was his thing.

He sees Hyunjoon first, stumbling against the edge of the roof. His gun is tossed to the side, way out of his reach.

There’s someone else.

They’re dressed all in black and when they turn, Sunwoo sees a pair of cold eyes.

“Get down!”

Hyunjoon dives for cover and the other man bolts for the other side. Sunwoo shoots but misses and the man leaps over the side.

“What the hell?”

“Fire escape,” Hyunjoon calls. Sunwoo runs to the side and peers over just in time to see the man climbing furiously down the rickety ladder. He has half a mind to go after him but there may be more out there and Hyunjoon could be hurt.

He jogs over to Hyunjoon’s prone figure, squatting down next to him. “Are you okay?” 

Hyunjoon grimaces, spitting blood out of his mouth. “I’m alright. I think I twisted my ankle though. It hurts.”

Sunwoo is no nurse but he checks anyway, rolling the other’s pant leg up a bit. Injuries never bothered him but the black-and-blue marks still make him frown. “Well it’s definitely bruised.”

“Bastard got a few lucky hits in.” Hyunjoon clicks his earpiece back on.

“Is everything okay?” Sangyeon’s voice crackles. “We heard the noise.”

“Mission success,” Sunwoo drawls, upset at the blood trailing out of the corner of Hyunjoon’s mouth and the bruise blossoming on his forehead. No one hurts Hyunjoon and gets away with it. “Kind of.”

“Hyunjoonie, baby are you okay?” Jacob asks.

“Just a little banged up, is all.” Hyunjoom spits out another mouthful of blood, watching as Sunwoo goes to grab his gun that was kicked away during the fight.

“Get down now, we’ll hear all the details later,” Sangyeon says. He will not relax until he sees all of them in front of him with his own two eyes. “I don’t want you up there any longer.”

“Yeah, I have a weird feeling about this place,” agrees Changmin. 

Sunwoo helps Hyunjoon to his feet. “Think you can walk?”

“Painfully.”

“So no then.” Sunwoo wraps an arm around Hyunjoon’s waist to support him as they head to the door and then down the stairs. Their walk is quiet, Hyunjoon trying to conceal his occasional hisses of pain and Sunwoo pretending not to notice them.

Finally they make it out of the building and onto the street. The car is there, door already open and waiting. Changmin helps Sunwoo get Hyunjoon into the car. Jacob had abandoned shotgun in this instance to tend to the younger.

“Oh baby, what did they do to you?” he hums to himself, dabbing at the blood. Hyunjoon just shrugs as Younghoon takes off. They’re all anxious to get out of there.

“Did you get it?” Hyunjoon asks. Jacob is wrapping his ankle up quickly, a temporary hold until they get back to base. Back home.

Changmin tilts his head. “Did you not hear?”

“No, after I told you about the second floor, I heard someone, so I turned the volume down to focus.”

“Yeah we did.” Everything in Changmin is screaming to ask what happened. But Hyunjoon looks a little pale and he’s going to have to recap everything anyway. He doesn’t want to make the younger go through it twice. Younghoon catches his eye in the mirror and subtly shakes his head.

Hyunjoon smiles tiredly. “I’m glad.”

The rest of the car ride is quiet, Hyunjoon leaning against Jacob’s shoulder and dozing off. Once they get back, Younghoon volunteers to carry him in.

As soon as Sunwoo opens the door, they’re pounced on.

“How is he?” Sangyeon asks first.

“My baby Hyunjoonie!” Hyunjae yells behind him. Hyunjoon buries his face in Younghoon’s chest, arms loosely wrapped around his neck.

“We saved dinner for everyone!” adds Haknyeon, already pulling Sunwoo towards the kitchen.

“What happened?” asks Chanhee. Jacob shoos them out of the way.

“I need to treat him and you all are in the way,” he scolds. “We’ll cover everything after I’m done.”

There’s a chorus of  _ okays  _ and  _ feel better _ as Younghoon walks through the crowd to their tiny medical room. It’s really just their second living space that Jacob had transformed to a makeshift hospital, tired of treating everyone on the kitchen counter.

Hyunjoon is placed on the soft couch and Jacob gets to work, icing the ankle and wrapping it properly. Haknyeon comes in a few minutes later with two plates of food.

“You need to eat,” he says simply. 

Jacob smiles. “Thanks baby.” Haknyeon nods and ruffles Hyunjoon’s already messy hair before he leaves. They both start to eat, Hyunjoon feeding Jacob and laughing when he misses. It’s reassuring actually, that Hyunjoon is this relaxed. Jacob feels some of the worry drain away.

“How does that feel?” Jacob asks a couple moments later, having finished. Hyunjoon moves his foot back and forth gingerly. The pain feels sturdier now, more manageable and not as bad. He doesn’t want to try putting his weight on it quite yet. 

“Better. Thank you.”

“Of course. Are you hurt anywhere else?” Jacob tenderly touches the bruise on his forehead and although Hyunjoon flinches, he doesn’t pull away.

“No, just that.”

“I’m glad,” Sangyeon says, coming into the room. At Jacob’s frown, he just shrugs. “The door was open, I was going to knock!”

“Sure you were.”

“Thought we had lost you there for a minute, baby.” Sangyeon ignores the pang in his chest as he sits next to Hyunjoon. “We couldn’t track you for a bit.”

Hyunjoon tilts his head. “Really? What happened?”

“That’s the thing. We don’t know. You were still visible but we couldn’t contact you. You weren’t cut out, not exactly.”

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” asks Jacob. Hyunjoon swings one leg back and forth. Thinking.

“Yeah. But I want Hyunjae hyung first.”

“Of course. In fact, I think Hyunjae is going to make a point of carrying you around everywhere for the next week,” Jacob laughs. “I’ll go get him.”

“No need.” Sangyeon clears his throat. “We know you’re there, Hyunjae.”

Hyunjae peeks around the doorframe, only a little sheepish. His eyes light up when he sees Hyunjoon however and he flies into the room.

“Baby, how are you?” He sits on the younger’s other side, carefully pulling him into his lap so as not to jostle his ankle.

“I’m okay.”

Hyunjae’s arms come up naturally around Hyunjoon’s waist. “Wherever your prince desires to go, I will grant you passage!” Hyunjoon giggles and Jacob’s heart feels so full.

This is their life, and he’s gotten very used to it, but he’s a little glad they all take things like this seriously. Injuries are no stranger on the job, and they usually wouldn't make everything a big deal, but it seems like other factors are at play here.

“Let’s move to the living room where we can all talk,” suggests Sangyeon. Hyunjae stands up, swinging Hyunjoon in his arms as they leave the room. Jacob follows them out, wanting to take the dishes to the kitchen first before he joins them.

He places them in the sink, making a mental note to wash them properly later.

“Hey Jacob.”

Jacob whirls, seeing Kevin standing there. His hair is longer now, after being undercover for a while. He’s gotten skinnier too but his smile is just the same.

The words come out more casually than Jacob would’ve liked. “Hi Kevin.”

Neither knows who moved first but suddenly they’re hugging and  _ God _ , Jacob has missed this. Being without Kevin for so long really took its toll on him more than he thought.

“You’ve had quite the exciting day today,” Kevin murmurs and Jacob’s laugh gets caught in his throat.

“You had quite an exciting few months, didn’t you?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t see you sooner. When I got back, you were the first person I wanted to see.”

Jacob whacks him half heartedly. “Sweetheart.”

Kevin grins, a beautiful sight. “I missed you, angel.”

“I missed you too.”

There’s a cough and they both turn to see Juyeon, his cheeks slightly red since he’s interrupting a sweet reunion. “Um, we’re ready to start anytime. But you can take all the time you need! Just so you know…” He gives an awkward smile and heads back to the living room, where they can hear Chanhee berating him.

“You couldn’t have let them have their moment?”

“But you wanted them to hurry up!”

“It sounded better coming from you than me!”

Kevin and Jacob both laugh, finally separating from their hug. “I suppose we should go,” Kevin says regretfully. “I am worried about Hyunjoon too. This has never really happened before.”

“Yeah.” Having been caught up in seeing Kevin, Jacob had momentarily forgot about the earlier attack but now it comes flooding back.

They make their way to where everyone else is, squeezing in at the end of the leather couch next to Chanhee. Usually for meetings like this, they all meet in the conference room but they thought Hyunjoon could be more comfortable on cushions.

Currently he’s curled into Hyunjae’s side, Sangyeon next to him. Juyeon and Eric are sharing one of the big arm chairs, Sunwoo and Haknyeon in the other. Younghoon and Changmin are settled on the floor, leaning against half Chanhee’s legs and half the couch.

“Alright, we all accounted for?” Sangyeon counts silently. “Okay, let’s get started. First off, this run was a success. We got the info and it’s back where it needs to be.”

“Are we ever going to learn more about it other than just moving it places?” complains Eric. Sunwoo grins.

“Nope!”

“How disappointing.”

“Anyway,” Sangyeon continues as if nothing happened. “We did however have some problems after the mission. Hyunjoon was unable to communicate with the others but all our monitors showed that things were working fine.”

“We got your alert eventually,” Changmin chimes in. “But it was after we had already panicked.”

“When did you press it?” asks Younghoon.

Hyunjoon’s face turns dark. “As soon as I realized I wasn’t alone.”

“Which was after you turned the volume down?” Juyeon is taking notes on his iPad.

Hyunjoon nods. “I thought it was the wind or a bird or something. But I saw in the reflection of the window from the other building that someone was behind me. I turned around but then he attacked.” He pauses, glaring at the floor. “I wasn’t ready for it.”

“And we didn’t hear any of it,” murmurs Younghoon, almost to himself. “Weird.”

“Tech freaks out every now and then,” Haknyeon offers. “Maybe it just got zapped?” Hyunjoon throws his earpiece on the table with the promise to look at it later.

“Maybe.”

“Did he say anything?” Chanhee asks.

“Not at first. I yelled at him but he didn’t respond. When he knocked me down, he stepped on my ankle.”

Hyunjae’s hold gets a little tighter.

“After he punched me, he leaned down and said  _ it’s getting closer, it’s personal now.  _ And then I yelled again and Sunwoo came.” Hyunjoon snuggles closer to Hyunjae, reminding himself that it’s all over now. He definitely could’ve held his own but there’s a tiny part of himself that will never admit that he’s glad Sunwoo came to his rescue.

“ _ It’s getting closer. It’s personal now _ ?” Haknyeon repeats. “What does that mean?”

“I mean, I know we’ve probably pissed some people off but what could be personal about it?” wonders Chanhee out loud.

Jacob noticies how Kevin has gotten a little stiffer next to him.

“Did he seem familiar?” Eric asks.

“I don’t think so,” Hyunjoon replies. “He was wearing a mask so I didn’t see his face. Just his eyes.”

“They were sharp eyes,” adds Sunwoo. “Cruel. I saw them too.”

“If you describe them more, I can draw them,” Kevin says suddenly. He leaves for a second before coming back with a pad of paper and a pencil. Hyunjoon and Sunwoo describe what little knowledge they have as best they can and at the end, it’s a substantial drawing of a masked figure.

“Once again, you never fail to amaze us, Kevin,” Hyunjae compliments. Kevin smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Could you get started on this, Juyeon? Search every screen in this city, I want to know who he is.” Scowling, Sangyeon takes the paper before passing it to Juyeon to study.

“For sure.”

“I don’t think we’ll need that except to find out where he is,” Kevin says. His eyes haven’t left the paper.

“What do you mean?” Juyeon lets Kevin take the paper back.

“Because I know who this is.”

“Who?” Changmin and Eric say at the same time. Kevin heaves a sigh and Jacob pats his hand in comfort.

Kevin really didn’t think he’d have to deal with this ever again but apparently the world likes giving him a hard time.

“This is Lee Junkyu from the Kuryu Group. That’s where I was on my mission. I leaked info on their human trafficking ring and they got shut down.” Kevin looks away. “I knew they didn’t get everybody but I thought they at least got the important ones.”

“He works fast then,” comments Chanhee. “Why do you think he came after Hyunjoon?”

“I don’t know.”

“What was he like? At least now we know who he is,” Changmin says lightly, trying to be optimistic.

“Quiet. I never talked with him much. He just got rid of the….evidence.” Kevin pauses, trying to think things through. How had Junkyu of all people found Hyunjoon? “What was this information about?”

“We’re not supposed to know,” Eric points out.

“Well…” Sangyeon starts. Eric turns his accusing gaze on the eldest.

“You knew? And you didn’t tell us!”

“I don’t know all the time,” Sangyeon defends himself. “This one just happened to tell us. It’s nothing exciting though, just embezzling between SM and YG.”

Sunwoo pokes Eric’s arm. “You didn’t even go, why are you so worked up?”

Eric sniffs proudly. “I like being nosy.”

Kevin is deep in thought. Embezzling? The Kuryu Group never dealt with embezzling, especially if they had to do with SM and YG. Those companies were on blacklist. How would Junkyu have known about it? Did he know they were going to be there or was he actually interested in the information? Was it a coincidence that he came after them, mere days after Kevin had left? Or did he… know?

“Oh hell,” he sighs. “He must’ve found the mole.”

“The mole?” Jacob tilts his head.

“Me.” Kevin goes through everything he did as soon as he left but everything had seemed to be in order. “After I exposed everything, I vanished. I’d hoped they all would’ve thought I was taken too but I guess he figured it out. And then… came after us.” Kevin’s voice gets small at the end.

“Well we don’t know that for sure,” Hyunjae starts but Kevin shakes his head.

“ _ It’s getting closer.  _ That’s how they all signed the end of their deals.”

“Well that’s ominous,” Haknyeon comments.

“And also kind of a common saying,” Younghoon tries to reassure. “That doesn’t mean it’s them.”

“I don’t know, it makes sense,” says Changmin. Jacob notices Kevin is tense and knows he’s definitely thinking too much. He puts a hand on Kevin’s knee in support but Kevin’s eyes are far away.

“He wanted Hyunjoon to tell me.  _ It’s personal now.  _ I destroyed his group so he’ll…”  _ Do the same.  _ The unspoken words hover in the air.

“If it’s just one guy, we can take him down. Easy!” Eric boasts, wanting to diffuse the dark cloud that has suddenly taken over the room. “We’ve gone against worst things!”

“Yeah, and you said most everybody was caught. So we’ll just have to finish this guy and call it a day,” agrees Chanhee. “Nothing to worry about!”

“Hyunjoon isn’t nothing,” Kevin frowns. “I was careless and let him catch me. It’s all my fault.”

Jacob winces.

“Hyung, I don’t think this was your fault,” Hyunjoon speaks up. Kevin smiles wearily.

“Of course you don’t, baby. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is.”

“We shouldn’t focus on that,” Hyunjae says, swallowing back his anger. Kevin is not getting the point. “We need to get this bastard.”

Kevin’s face falls. “But I-”

“We’re not setting anything in stone now,” Sangyeon interrupts before things can get worse. “We don’t know anything for sure yet. I think we all just need to sleep and revisit this in the morning.”

There’s a chorus of agreement as people drift off to their rooms to get ready for bed. Hyunjoon pulls Hyunjae to sleep in his room, still a little shaken no matter how he tries to hide it.

“Will Kevin hyung be alright?” Hyunjoon asks when Jacob comes in to check on his ankle. 

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Jacob focuses on propping Hyunjoon’s ankle up and not on how small the younger’s voice sounded.

“He thinks it’s his fault. And it’s not.”

“He is stubborn,” adds Hyunjae, sitting on the edge of the bed. Jacob just hums, unsure what to say.

“I don’t want him to feel guilty,” Hyunjoon sighs. It tugs at Jacob’s heart.

“I’ll talk to him. I can’t have you both feeling bad now, can I?” Jacob kisses Hyunjoon’s forehead. “Goodnight baby. Try to get some sleep, okay?”

“Okay hyung. Goodnight.”

“You get some sleep too,” Hyunjae says seriously. “Don’t worry too much about Kevin. We’ll figure it out.” 

“I can’t promise but I’ll try.”

“You better.” Hyunjae’s tone is joking but his eyes are earnest in worry. He’s better at hiding his concern than Jacob thought. Sometimes Jacob forgets that Hyunjae is one of the oldest but it’s times like this that reminds him. 

“Goodnight,” he says simply. Hyunjoon’s eyes have been drooping and he wants to give them an opportunity to be together before sleeping.

“How are you doing?” Hyunjae whispers in the dark a few moments later after Jacob has left. Hyunjoon is cuddled up in his arms, safe and secure and he breathes the first easy breath all day.

“I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt much.”

Hyunjae will not waste words on how angry he was when he saw the bruise on Hyunjoon’s forehead when he was first brought in. The younger one looked so small in Younghoon’s arms, small and fragile. It hurt.

“I’m glad you’re okay, hyung was so worried. Juyeon said he couldn’t locate you and I… I just wish you hadn’t been alone.”

“But I wasn’t alone.” Hyunjoon twists his neck to look up at his hyung. “We’ve done this so many times before, hyung, there was bound to be one bad time.”

“I wish that wasn’t true.” Hyunjae starts to stroke Hyunjoon’s hair, for the younger’s comfort as much as his own. 

Hyunjoon is cold and tough. He has great aim and not very many things make him crack. Feeling like he’s disappointing his hyungs is one of them.“I’m sorry I made you worry.”

“This is not your fault.” It takes everything in Hyunjae to not talk loudly. He needs to drill into Hyunjoon that these things happened; he just wishes he had been there to help.

“I know but I don’t want you to feel bad. I’m fine now, Hyunjae hyung.” Hyunjoon nestles ever closer. He finally feels relaxed. Today had passed in a blur and he’s more tired than he thought he was. And now, snug in Hyunjae’s hold, he feels ready to pass out.

“I’m ever grateful for that, baby.” Hyunjae smiles when he hears Hyunjoon’s breathing start to even out until he’s finally asleep.

Although there’s calm in one room, there’s tension in another. Haknyeon had persuaded Sangyeon to sleep with him that night, leaving Jacob the room to himself. Kevin had found his way there a little bit later, wearing one of Juyeon’s big T-shirts and boxers.

He knocks on the door frame.“I heard there’s a free space here for the night.”

Jacob rolls his eyes, double-checking his report of the day. “You don’t have to ask to spend the night here, Kevin.”

Kevin shrugs. “I just didn’t know if you would want your space.”

“I don’t know if you would want yours.”

There’s silence between them. Jacob closes the laptop and pats the space next to him, an open invitation. Kevin joins him, sitting cross legged but looks away.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Jacob starts gently. “None of this is your fault.”

“It is though. I had to have messed up somewhere and he found out. If I hadn’t screwed things up, Hyunjoon wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” Kevin says this all very quickly without looking at the other. Jacob frowns; he’s been thinking about it a lot.

“Hyunjoon’s fine, Kevin. He doesn’t blame you for anything, so how can you-”

“Because I had the chance!” Kevin blurts out, burying his face in his hands. “I had the chance to not fuck things up and I did! I fucked up everything!” 

Jacob’s heart breaks at the words. “You put a stop to these horrendous people, that’s not fucking up.”

“It is since Hyunjoonie’s hurt.”

“You can’t save everyone all the time.”

“But-”

“You’re hurting Hyunjoon more by blaming yourself.” Jacob doesn’t want to play this card but he’s not getting through. Kevin’s softest spot is for the maknae line. “He’s worried about you and doesn’t want you to feel guilty.” Kevin winces.

Jacob’s voice gets soft. “No one is blaming you, Kevin. You couldn’t have known.”

Kevin nods and Jacob thinks he’s finally listening. 

But then. 

“You don’t know what these people are like, Jacob. Even if it’s one guy, he’s dangerous. And I brought him into our lives.”

Jacob admires Kevin for many reasons. One of them is that he still retains his light after mixing with the darkest of people. But pretending can take a toll on even Kevin after a while.

He takes Kevin’s hand, causing the other to look at him. “I can’t take your guilt away from you, unnecessary as it is. But I will share it with you.”

Once again, Kevin is struck by Jacob’s tact. He always knows what to say to make Kevin feel better and this time is no exception.

They’re going to get through this. Kevin just needs to clear his head, focus his energy, and kick some Kuryu Group ass. It’s going to be great. 

“Thanks angel.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Hurry up, Sunwoo.” Haknyeon looks over his shoulder worriedly. No one has noticed them yet but they will soon. This area always gets crowded around late afternoon.

“I know, I know.” Sunwoo takes a step back, satisfied with his work. “What do you think?”

Haknyeon tilts his head.  _ The Boyz  _ is spray-painted messily in big looping letters on the side of the building. It’s a nickname Eric had come up with way back when, and it really just stuck. 

The dark blue spray paint is a starking contrast against the red brick. In the downtown area, graffiti isn’t uncommon but they can’t be caught actually doing it.

“I like it. Not as neat as Kevin hyung’s, but it’ll do.”

“I’m good at literally everything else,” Sunwoo almost whines. “Can you just let me live this  _ one  _ time?”

Haknyeon beams widely, patting Sunwoo on the arm. “I don’t think I’m physically able to.”

“Unsurprising.” 

“Hey you!”

“Oh shit, we gotta go.” Sunwoo zips up the backpack and slings it over his shoulder just as a police officer appears at the opening of the alley.

“You little punks!”

“This way!” Haknyeon leaps the fence first, Sunwoo swinging himself over it a moment later. The officer is still far enough away and they start to run, their laughter caught by the wind. They know they won’t get caught- they never do. They run too fast, they know the backways and shortcuts, and they get away every time. 

Pounding footsteps follow behind them but they only laugh louder, hands grappling at each other as they run down the same paths.

They make a sharp turn towards the docks. No one goes down there anymore except the occasional fishermen. It’s too far from the rest of town for anyone to even bother with and it makes the perfect retreat.

Slightly out of breath, they reach the edge of the dock, almost toppling over as they plop down. Their legs dangle over the side, close to the water, and they’re still laughing.

“What a fucking rush,” Sunwoo gets out, trying to catch his breath.

“Isn’t it always?” Haknyeon says through his giggles.

They fall into a comfortable silence, the last of their laughter slowly fading. The sea breeze skips over their faces, a slight spray of water following.

Haknyeon kicks his feet back and forth. “Jacob hyung is going to kill us.”

“Only if he finds out.”

“You’re bad, Sunwoo.”

Sunwoo shoves him playfully. “But you love me for it! Besides, it was totally worth it. What is he gonna do, be mad at us?”

“You and your rebellious phase,” Haknyeon sighs.

“Gotta have fun while we can, right?”

“Think you’ll have fun going to the vending machine?” Haknyeon grins that sunshine smile of his. “I’m hungry.”

Sunwoo rolls his eyes. “I should’ve seen that coming.”

“Hey, we ran a lot! And breakfast was a long time ago.”

Sunwoo may give Haknyeon a lot of shit but he considers him one of his closest friends. There’s nothing he won’t do for him.

Haknyeon bats his eyelashes. “Please?”

_ Dammit that’s cute.  _ “Fine.” Sunwoo gets to his feet, hands on his hips. “What do you want?”

“Surprise me.”

“You better like whatever I get you,” Sunwoo threatens and Haknyeon nods, hugging the younger’s legs.

“I always do, promise!”

“I’ll be back in a second.” Sunwoo shakes him off and makes his way back up the dock. There’s a line of vending machines near the road, a little closer to civilization. In all the times they’ve been here, Sunwoo has never seen them restocked but they always have food. It’s a mystery they don’t mind happening.

Haknyeon hums to himself happily, continuing to kick his feet above the water. This was exactly what he had needed.

It has been two days since Hyunjoon was attacked. Kevin was doing research about the Kuryu Group and Sangyeon had made sure none of them took missions for the rest of the week. He didn’t want to risk anything happening.

And after being cooped up for those two days, Haknyeon had been getting antsy and convinced Sunwoo to go out with him for a little bit. It started out at the arcade but of course Sunwoo wanted to paint. For being one of the spies, he always did love leaving his mark.

Haknyeon is more of the poison expert. He never finished college but while he was there, he wanted to major in chemistry and pharmaceutical studies. It comes in handy whenever they deal with chemicals or drugs; Haknyeon’s able to pinpoint every single one.

There’s a splash from below and he looks down to see a school of fish meandering by his feet. He searches his pockets for his phone to take a picture before he remembers that he left it in Sunwoo’s backpack. Oh well, maybe next time. He had wanted to call the others too since they should probably head home anyway but he can wait until Sunwoo gets back.

There’s the sound of footsteps behind him but he doesn’t turn around, expecting Sunwoo to say something. It’s quiet though, and Haknyeon chalks it up to the younger just trying to scare him.

“You’re not funny, Sunwoo. I’m hungry.” He holds a hand out, expecting food.

Instead, he feels a hand holding his own. “You’re going to be disappointed then.”

That voice. That’s not Sunwoo.

Haknyeon looks up and his breath is caught in his throat.

A masked man is glaring down at him, still holding his hand. Haknyeon tries to yank himself away but the grip is tight. 

“Let go of me!”

“You said you were hungry. I’m sure I could get you a taste of something.” The man’s eyes glint maliciously.

_ This isn’t good. _

Haknyeon swivels around and kicks him in the shin, causing his grip to loosen. Pulling his hand away, Haknyeon stumbles to his feet and bolts.

“Sunwoo!”

But the man manages to grab the edge of his shirt and jerks him back. Haknyeon yelps and trips over his own feet, making it easy for the man to hold him in place.

“Sunwoo!” 

The man puts his hand over Haknyeon’s mouth but Haknyeon bites it, drawing blood. The man hisses and pushes him to the ground.

_ Where’s Sunwoo? Why isn’t he here? Is there another one that got him?  _ Thoughts run rampant through Haknyeon’s head but he keeps a calm facade, giving the man a dirty look. “What do you want?”

“It’s getting closer.”

Haknyeon’s stomach drops.  _ Junkyu. _

Before he can say anything, Junkyu hauls him to his feet and grabs his neck, squeezing. Haknyeon chokes, kicking his feet out weakly.

“Let go,” he whimpers, but the grip only gets tighter and he panics because there are dark spots at the corners of his eyes and he’s trying to suck in air but he can’t, he can’t breathe he  _ can’t breathe can’t breathe can’t _

“Step the fuck away from him.”

Haknyeon turns his head slightly to see Sunwoo standing there, gun pointed straight at Junkyu with narrowed eyes.

Having just finished getting the candybars, Sunwoo was about to start back when he heard a faint scream. Recognizing it as Haknyeon, he sprinted back to the docks to see a horrific sight.

A man was holding Haknyeon by the throat and Sunwoo saw red.

Junkyu doesn’t move and Sunwoo’s frown only gets deeper. “I’m not going to ask again.”

“Now it’s personal.”

Sunwoo lowers his gun by a fraction.  _ Junkyu? _

But the man doesn’t say anything more. He lets go of Haknyeon but then gives him a shove. Haknyeon loses his balance and tips over the edge of the dock with a gasp.

“Haknyeon!”

There’s a splash and Sunwoo takes a couple steps forward, body unsure where to go next.

Junkyu shoulders past Sunwoo in the blink of an eye. Once again, he’s caught in the crossroads. He could go after him but he also needs to make sure Haknyeon’s okay.

“We’ll meet again, fucker,” Sunwoo calls after him before he runs to the end of the dock, throwing his backpack aside. “Hyung? Hyung!”

“I’m okay!” Haknyeon is swimming towards the shallower end, near part of the docks. Sunwoo leans down and extends his hand.

“I’ll help you up, grab on.”

With one foot on the column of the dock, Haknyeon pulls himself up with Sunwoo’s help. He flops down, spitting water out and pushing his bangs back.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just mad.” Haknyeon is completely soaked and starts to wring his shirt out. “That was a cheap trick.”

“Good thing you can swim!” Sunwoo tries to joke but it gets caught in the back of his mouth. Noticing how Haknyeon is shivering, he takes his jacket off and drapes it over the elder’s shoulders.

“But I’m going to get it wet-”

“You’re cold,” Sunwoo says flatly. Leave it to Haknyeon to worry about that during a situation like this.

Haknyeon looks down, cheeks flushed. “Thanks.”

“What happened?”

“I thought he was you.” Haknyeon shrugs. “But he talked and his voice was way too deep to be yours. So I looked up, and he tried to grab me and he said  _ it’s getting closer, it’s personal now _ , and I realized he was Junkyu.”

When Haknyeon turns to look back out at the water, Sunwoo sees faint bruises at the base of his throat.

Before he can stop himself, he cups Haknyeon’s face gently, tilting his head this way and that to get a better look. “Do they hurt?”

Haknyeon’s hands brush his collarbones. “I think the adrenaline is still working. I don’t feel anything except cold.”

Sunwoo’s heart hurts and he curses himself for leaving Haknyeon alone. “I’m sorry I left you.”

“It’s not your fault.” Haknyeon’s eyes are soft. “How would you know he’d be here?”

“But still…”

“I’m fine.” Haknyeon smiles, blinking water droplets out of his eyes. “Nothing bad happened.” He reaches out and squeezes Sunwoo’s hand in reassurance. He’s a little cold from the ocean but Sunwoo loves the feeling.

“We should be getting back,” he says, going to collect his fallen backpack. “I’ll call Younghoon hyung to pick us up.” They’re too far from home to walk now and even if so, Sunwoo doesn’t want to risk another attack. 

They start walking back down the dock, Sunwoo gazing suspiciously at everything, one hand heavy on his gun.

“Oh, by the way, here.” Sunwoo holds out a candybar without looking at the other.

Haknyeon pulls the jacket tighter around himself. “You got my favorite?”

“Well, yeah. And…” Sunwoo coughs, awkward. “You deserve it even more now.”

“Sweetheart.” Haknyeon takes it and starts to eat while Sunwoo dials his hyung’s number. 

“Hey Younghoon hyung, can you come pick us up? Something came up.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Alright two strikes, he’s got one last to go.” Sangyeon scowls at the mess in front of him. Kevin had done as much research as possible, digging up every piece of information he knows about Junkyu from his Kuryu days. Unfortunately, there’s not much to go off of besides what they already know.

“I feel like that’s the only way we’re gonna find him again,” Kevin sighs. “If he comes to us first.”

“We’re not going to let that happen.” Hyunjae flicks through some of the papers, not actually reading them. His mind is elsewhere. All of theirs are.

After Younghoon had brought Sunwoo and Haknyeon back, they told the whole story of their attack. It took everything in Sangyeon not to break something. First Hyunjoon, now Haknyeon. Junkyu is going after his youngest and he’s not okay with that. He was never much for violence but now he’s considering murder is the only option.

Haknyeon needed a hot shower and food and then went to bed. Sunwoo had stuck by his side the entire time but more in a subtle way; he acted like it was a coincidence they were even in the same room at the same time.

So after they were safely asleep and everyone else had scattered to their rooms, Sangyeon had called a meeting. The six oldest had gathered in their conference room, ready to work out at least a semblance of a plan.

“I haven’t seen him anywhere,” Juyeon begins, tapping his fingers against the wood. “He doesn’t show up on any monitors. It’s like he appears from thin air.”

“How is he getting around?” wonders Younghoon. “There’s no way he can avoid every screen in the world.”

“Not in the world perhaps, but at least in Seoul.”

Kevin has been quiet, taking scattered notes and humming in the right places. Jacob is worried about him, knowing the guilt must be even worse now.

He squeezes Kevin’s knee under the table and Kevin gives a small smile, locking their fingers together.

“Do you think he’s going by that mentality?” asks Hyunjae. “Three strikes? Because then it’s just one more time.”

“And we do what? Wait until that happens?” Kevin snaps. Jacob gives him a look and Kevin slumps back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry.”

Hyunjae frowns but passes over it. This isn’t a time to be fighting. “Well we know he’s going to come after us again. Let’s start there.”

“It’s only been two times so we can’t find much of a pattern,” Jacob says, spreading the papers out in front of him. “But the similarities we have are a little to go off of. Both places didn’t have any cameras or surveillance.”

“Because he didn’t want to be seen.” Sangyeon is pacing up and down in front of the table, chewing on one of his fingernails.

“Yeah. But there are a lot of places like that.” Jacob separates the two piles. One is from Hyunjoon’s, one from Haknyeon’s. It has pictures of the warehouse and the docks, the times and addresses and the people there. “One was on a mission, one wasn’t. And he showed up both times, just to pass a message and to… what?”

“Scare us?” Younghoon offers. “He didn’t do lasting damage and it sounds like he never intended to. Maybe he just wants to make us paranoid.”

“Well it’s working,” mutters Kevin. They had triple checked the security that night, and Juyeon had even rigged some extra precautions just in case.

“Well he wants to destroy us,” says Hyunjae matter-of-factly, trying to keep his emotions under wraps. Every word is like ash in his mouth. “That much is for certain.”

“But why won’t he just go for me? I’m the one who ruined him,” Kevin points out. He glares down at his notes he had managed to take in secret while under the Kuryu Group. They’re the things that got them in this mess in the first place.

“Maybe that’s why,” Jacob suggests gently. “Because he knew it was you. And it’s worse seeing the people you love get hurt.”

“I really hate when you’re right, Jacob,” says Juyeon. Jacob gives a sad smile.

It seems Junkyu knows them better than they thought. It would make sense to destroy Kevin on his own but Junkyu is going after his loved ones instead. He knows if something happened to them, Kevin would never be the same, and that would be the perfect revenge.

“Let’s get back to it,” Sangyone says. Being angry is all good and well but logic is going to get things done.

He leans over Jacob’s shoulder, inspecting the two piles. “I don’t know if he has any method to this. It seems random.”

“There’s only two similarities.” Jacob pulls out two pieces of paper from the different stacks. “One, the timing. Both happened between the hours of five and six pm. Eric, Changmin and I went to the store today earlier. Why didn’t he come for us on our way back?”

“Too many of you?” Juyeon guesses.

Jacob shakes his head. “The first one had six of us. So it may be because there were too many people around, but there were times when we were alone.”

“Maybe he can only keep tabs on a few at a time.” Hyunjae leans forward, resting his head on his hands. “If it’s just him, like Chanhee said, then he can’t follow all of us everywhere.”

Younghoon looks at Jacob. “What’s the second thing?”

Jacob takes a post-it off one pile and places it onto the other, right next to the same one.

“Sunwoo. He was there both times and had an opportunity to get Junkyu. But he didn’t, because he was worried about the others.”

“What do you think it means?” Sangyeon asks. 

Jacob ruffles his hair, frustrated. “I don’t know. That’s the only crossover.”

Sangyeon traces the letters with his finger, heart clenching. “Do you think he’ll be going after Sunwoo next?”

Kevin’s face darkens. Younghoon scoots closer, lightly tapping Kevin’s elbow for comfort.

“Or maybe he doesn’t have any rhyme or reason and is just doing it off a whim.” Hyunjae yawns, tapping his foot underneath the table.

“Junkyu doesn’t do things spontaneously,” disagrees Kevin. That much he knows for sure. Junkyu planned out everything for his own agenda. “He’s very meticulous. He had to be. I think he’s thought everything through for this.”

“Which means… what?” Juyeon wonders out loud. Jacob glances down at his papers, trying to make sense of it all. Does Junkyu have a plan? Or is he just following them until they’re easy targets and attacking?

“I don’t think he’ll come after Kevin personally,” he finally says. “At least, not yet. Not until his point’s made.”

Younghoon dreads the coming answer. “When will that be?” 

Jacob doesn’t want to respond and just shakes his head. They all know.

Junkyu’s point will be made when something really bad happens. When it’s their breaking point. And if they’re going by the rules of three, that’s going to happen next.

“Hyung?”

Everyone looks up at the voice. Eric is standing there in a pair of Sangyeon’s sweatpants and Juyeon’s oversized hoodie, looking small in the huge clothes.

“What’s up, baby?” Jacob asks softly. “I thought you were asleep.”

“I was. I mean, I tried to but I just couldn’t so I’ve been up for awhile.” Eric eyes the mess of papers over the table and his hyung’s tired faces. “How’s it going?”

“It’s going.” Kevin’s laugh is strained. They want everyone to be in the loop but they’re not going to come to the others with nothing to back it up. Besides, what have they really found out?

“It looks like you have something going.”

“Looks like,” emphasizes Hyunjae. “We still have a lot to go through. We’re almost back at square one.”

“Almost is better than nothing,” Younghoon says, not wanting to discourage them any further.

“Why don’t you go back to bed, hm?” Sangyeon suggests, not wanting to worry Eric even more. They may forget, but Eric is still a kid in a lot of ways and Sangyeon’s urge to protect is going haywire.

“I don’t know if I can sleep,” Eric admits. “There’s just a lot going on…” He doesn’t want to say he’s scared because he’s not. Not really. He knows nothing can get to them right now but he still doesn’t want to be alone. Eric is already an extrovert, wanting to be with people all the time and getting his energy from them. And after what happened to his hyungs, he especially wants another person with him. 

“And Chanhee hyung’s sleeping with Changmin,” he adds. So he’s even more alone. He could’ve gone to one of the others but he didn’t want to wake them up.

“You’re lonely,” Sangyeon says. Eric nods shyly, gripping the hem of his shirt tightly.

The one thing they should never do, yet sometimes forget, is make Eric feel alone. He likes his space of course, like the rest of them, but more often than not, he wants to be with others.

“I’ll go with you.” Juyeon stands up, stretching his arms above his head. “We’re pretty much done anyway, right?”

Sangyeon observes the disorganized heaps of paper on the table and nods. “Yeah, we’re done. We’ll work on it in the morning.”

“Sounds good.” 

After some hushed goodnights, Juyeon allows Eric to drag him back to his bedroom. He kicks his jeans off and climbs into bed to join the younger.

“I didn’t pull you away from your work, did I?”

“No baby, we were finished.” Juyeon absentmindedly smoothes the blankets out, thoughts still running through his head. They aren’t able to find where Junkyu is so the only possibility is for him to come to them. It’s a terrible idea but it’s all they have. Why are they always places with no surveillance?

Eric pulls the covers over his head, voice muffled. “I just don’t like to be alone.”

“I know you don’t.” Juyeon tugs them down so he can see Eric’s face. The youngest is pouting, disappointed at himself for perhaps interrupting something and feeling a little silly for wanting his hyung with him.

Juyeon pokes Eric’s cheek. “Why didn’t you get one of the others?”

“I didn’t want to bother them.”

Juyeon waits.

“And I wanted you,” Eric mumbles. Juyeon smiles and pulls Eric closer to him until they’re face to face. He brushes a strand of hair out of Eric’s eyes.

“Oh baby.”

“Hyung, you’re embarrassing me,” whines Eric. Juyeon snorts a laugh but covers it with a cough when Eric’s pout gets deeper.

“Let’s just sleep. I’ll be here in the morning when you wake up.”

Eric’s eyelids are already closed and he snuggles closer, his forehead right at the crook of Juyeon’s neck. “You better be.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! First, congrats to the Boyz for winning RTK! We love to see it and I lowkey got good inspiration out of their performances so that may be happening sometime. Also, your girl just got surgery a few days ago so hopefully I have plenty of time to write and get things up since I'm just in bed all day. Thanks for reading!

“I still can’t believe that Younghoon hyung actually let us take the car,” Eric exclaims, bouncing up and down in his seat. They may have a three-car garage but it doesn’t get used very much. A lot of the time they drive for missions, they usually leave it at a junkyard. Untraceable. 

“The only only reason he did is because I’m driving and you’re not.” Chanhee meets eyes with the youngest in the rearview mirror, ignoring his pout.

“You’re so mean to me, Chanhee hyung.”

“It’s out of love.”

Changmin snorts. “Yeah, that’s how he shows affection.”

“Yeah, to everyone except Eric. I’m mean to him just because.”

“Hey hyung, did you know that you’re the worst?”

“I don’t understand how you guys can room together and not die,” says Changmin. Eric winks.

“I have amazing willpower.”

“He wouldn’t want to get blood on the sheets,” Chanhee counters dryly. “Because he doesn’t know how to clean it.”

“That’s not true! I do the most laundry out of everyone.”

“We’re here,” announces Chanhee, pulling into a parking space and pointedly ignoring Eric’s taunts of  _ you know I’m right. _

Changmin gets out on the other side of the car and goes around the back. He spots a piece of paper stuck to the trunk and frowns. How had that gotten on there? And for so long too? Chanhee drives like a maniac sometimes, there is no way that something could just casually stick to the car.

It could just be a random flyer but his gut warns that it’s something more. He surveys around them quickly but nothing seems suspicious.

“You guys go on ahead,” he says, wanting to check it out alone. He doesn’t want anything happening to the other two. Call him paranoid but they’ve been in this business much too long to not take something like this seriously. 

Chanhee raises his eyebrows. “You sure?”

Fortunately- or maybe unfortunately sometimes- Chanhee always seems to know what Changmin is thinking. That’s why they work so well together; they can pick up on even the slightest change. Changmin thinks quickly, not wanting Chanhee to call him out. “Yeah, I just wanted to call Juyeon hyung about something and you know I can’t multitask.”

“Sounds fake but ok-”

“Okay okay, we’ll see you in a minute.” Eric is impatient, dragging Chanhee towards the store without a second thought. Chanhee shoots Changmin a concerned look but knows he can take care of himself.

Once they’re out of sight, Changmin wraps his hand up in his scarf. It’s probably not poisoned but he doesn’t want to take any chances. He’s lost count of how many times they have had to deal with things covered in poisonous substances. Hesitantly, he pulls the paper off the car. Nothing threatening yet. He flips it over and his breath turns to a shard of ice in his chest.

_ Now  _ it’s threatening.

_ It’s getting closer. Now it’s personal.  _ It’s written in cut out newspaper lettering. And stuck right next to it is a candid picture of Jacob, caught unaware as he’s getting out of the very car they used to drive here.

It must’ve been from last night, he had gone out to pick some food up for dinner. But how did Junkyu get this?

_ Fuck. _

Changmin calls Jacob immediately, heart dropping when he doesn’t pick up. Kevin is next but it also goes unheard. With each unreturned call, Changmin’s chest gets tighter and tighter. He calls Sangyeon and finally the eldest answers.

“Where’s Jacob hyung?”

“Taking a nap, why?” Sangyeon is confused. “Did you need something?”

“Are you sure? Can you check that he’s still there?”

“Sure... Changmin, what’s going on?” Sangyeon pads over to his and Jacob’s shared room, peeking in. There Jacob is, snuggled up in his blankets. “He’s here.”

“Thank God,” Changmin breathes. “Don’t let him out of your sight.”

“What’s happening?”

“I’ll explain when we get back. Just don’t let him be alone, okay?”

Sangyeon knows not to question any further. “Okay. Come back soon, alright?”

“For sure. We have to talk.” Changmin hangs up before wrapping the note up in his scarf and shoving it into his pocket. He heads into the store, finding Chanhee and Eric in the ice cream aisle. Typical.

“We have to go,” he says, tugging on Chanhee’s hand and hoping he can sense the urgency. They don’t know how the note got left or when it was placed. They could be being watched right now and don’t even know it.

“But we just got here,” protests Eric. “We haven’t even gotten a cart yet.”

Chanhee looks at Changmin closer. He sees the tightness of his jaw, the stiffness in his hands, how his eyes have seemed to zero in on something specific. It’s the same look he has during a mission, but they’re not on one.

Or are they? Changmin’s face is dark. It’s serious. Something must’ve happened.

“This can wait.” Chanhee is already walking towards the store’s exit, car keys out. Changmin and Eric follow behind him, the younger sputtering out questions. “I think we have more reason to get back.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the well wishes, I hopefully have my last appointment tomorrow to finish out the recovery stage! In the meantime, enjoy this next chapter :)

“So it seems like we were all wrong. We do know what he’s planning next,” Hyunjae says.

They’ve all gathered in the conference room and are now looking at the paper that Changmin had brought. After he had explained that it was taped to the car, Haknyeon immediately ran a few tests on it. Lo and behold, it wasn’t poisoned or anything of the sort. Once again, it seemed like Junkyu merely wanted them to find it.

Kevin is glaring at the paper so hard that they’re surprised it hasn’t burst into flames yet. He has a death grip on Jacob’s hand.

“Not necessarily,” Sangyeon says. “It’s a warning for sure but-”

“He’s coming after Jacob.” Kevin’s voice is flat, every word like ash in his mouth. “That’s the warning. That’s his last statement.”

“But why would he want Jacob hyung?” asks Haknyeon. “He didn’t want anything specific before.”

“I don’t think he realized he wanted Jacob either,” Juyeon says. “Until now. You said he always had a method, right? This must be it.”

“Instead of just warnings and attacks, he’s going to go further,” Younghoon adds. “This must be it.”

Jacob tightens his hold on Kevin’s hand. “Let’s think this through logically. Just because he wants something, that doesn’t mean-”

“He saw you, hyung,” Changmin points out. “He knows where you were. He got a picture. This is serious.”

“I think he’s done making threats.” Hyunjae gestures to the paper. “I think he’s ready to act on them.”

Kevin’s eyes narrow. “Over my dead body.” Hyunjoon winces.

“Don’t say that,” Jacob hisses. “We’ll work this out, we always have. We’ve faced worse than this-”

“But not when it’s directly targeted at you!”

“Kevin hyung, there are twelve of us and only one of him,” Sunwoo tries to reason. He feels angry too; they all do. It’s like something heavy is settled on his chest and he can’t pull in a proper breath. But he had time for it to fester and blow up and deal with it after Haknyeon. While Kevin is used to holding in some of his feelings, Sunwoo won’t let him anymore.

“We’ve had worse odds,” pipes up Hyunjoon.

Kevin scowls. “I don’t care what worse odds we’ve had. He’s messing with us,  _ all  _ of us, and it’s not okay with me.”

“We’re not down and out yet,” Hyunjae says, giving Kevin a look. They’re going through this together; no reason for Kevin to hold the world on his shoulders. “We still have a chance. We know he’s going after Jacob, done and done. We just have to be with him at all times.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard-” Jacob starts.

“No, that’s a good idea,” Sangyeon agrees. “We may know his plan but we don’t know what he’s going to do with it. We have to be careful.”

Younghoon nudges Kevin. “Let’s see that smile, hm? We’re gonna work things out.”

Kevin smoothes his face out. They’re right, he needs to focus. Be optimistic. Junkyu wants him to be careless and fuck up even more. He needs to relax.

“Well what do we do now?” Eric asks, anxious for some action. Sangyeon looks around the table. Kevin and Jacob are still holding hands. Juyeon has an arm around the back of Hyunjoon’s chair and Changmin is leaning his head on Hyunjae’s shoulder. These people are too important to him for them to not have a plan.

“No one goes anywhere alone,” he begins slowly, trying to think. They’ve been up against worse, yes, but never been targeted at like this before. No one has gotten this close. Sangyeon’s not sure where to go from here.

“I want a check-in every hour. You call me or Juyeon if you’re out of the house. In the meantime, I want as much information as possible about this guy. We double our security. I don’t want the only way we find him is if he finds us first.”

They all nod solemnly. Usually they can manage one light joke or two but this isn’t the time for it.

“That’s all for now,” Sangyeon continues, pulling the paper closer to him. He’s going to have Haknyeon run a few more tests on it, see if they can get a DNA sample or a dirt sample or something. At least figure out which newspaper it’s from. It’s not much, but it’s a start. “Haknyeon, stay behind for a minute. I want you to work on this.”

“Yes, hyung.”

The room empties as people start to leave, trying their best to act normal. Or as normal as they can for a group of ragtag spies. “I’m gonna start on dinner, come on Eric,” Younghoon says. Eric follows him to the kitchen since it’s their turn to cook this week.

Chanhee tugs at Juyeon’s hand. “Watch a movie with me. There’s a new rom com I wanted to catch.” Juyeon won’t admit it but he is a full-blown romantic at heart and goes without a fight. They want something to take their mind off of things for a while.

“Well I was going to go to shooting practice,” Sunwoo says. “Anyone care to join?”

“I do!” Hyunjoon raises his hand.

“Let me check your ankle before you go,” cautions Jacob.

“Shooting won’t hurt my ankle, hyung.”

“Well just in case!”

“Can I come too?” asks Changmin. Sunwoo nods, pulling him towards the door.

“Sure! The more the merrier!”

Jacob gives Hyunjae a look.  _ Don’t let them go alone.  _ Hyunjae can read it in Jacob’s eyes and salutes, following after the younger ones. Hyunjoon lets Jacob lead him to the medical room.

“How does it feel?” Jacob starts to unwrap his ankle.

“Fine. I can walk on it without it hurting.”

“That’s good.” Jacob presses on different spots gently, calculating the pain. Hyunjoon only winces twice but doesn’t say anything.

“I think you should take it easy a couple more days.”

“You too, hyung.”

Jacob avoids Hyunjoon’s eyes as he throws the gauze away. “What do you mean, baby?”

Hyunjoon shifts on the sofa. Something about Hyunjoon is so closed off yet vulnerable at the same time. And somehow he always manages to dreg up topics Jacob didn’t realize he needed to talk about. 

“Are you scared, hyung? That he’s coming after you?”

In all actuality, Jacob hadn’t given himself any time to really think about it. He saw the picture, sure, and heard what the others were saying, but it felt like it was happening to someone else. It’s like he was watching it through another’s eyes, that the  _ Jacob  _ they’re talking about isn’t him.

But now that Hyunjoon has brought it up, Jacob pauses. Of course he’s terrified. Junkyu is coming after him to get revenge. It’s a paranoid, petrifying type of fear. A different fear from sending the others into dangerous missions but somehow, not as bad. He’d rather it be him than them.

“Yes,” he answers finally. “Yes, I’m scared. But I’m not going to let that stop me from trying to finish this.”

Hyunjoon is quiet as Jacob wraps his ankle again, mind far away from the slight twinges of pain he feels. It was bad enough that Junkyu found them randomly but now he has an agenda. And since he was the first to start this, Hyunjoon feels like he wants to stop it as soon as possible.

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” he says. “We’ll protect you.” Jacob smiles lovingly, patting Hyunjoon’s knee.

“Thank you, baby.”

“Hyunjoonie, are you ready to go?” Hyunjae calls. 

“One minute!”

“Be careful,” Jacob says. 

“Of course, hyung.” Hyunjoon scampers from the room and Jacob looks after him fondly. 

But the moment doesn’t last long as he hears a door slam. Kevin.

Sighing to himself, he makes his way to one of the bedrooms. Knocking on the door quietly, he calls Kevin’s name.

There’s a hum from inside and Jacob takes that as a good sign, opening up the door. Kevin is on his bed, sketchpad in hand as he scribbles furiously.

“You didn’t want to go out with the others?”

“Not in the mood.”

“Can I join you?”

Kevin smiles but it’s tight. “You know you never have to ask.” Jacob quirks his mouth at that, coming further into the room to settle himself next to Kevin.

There’s quiet between them. Kevin continues to draw, his hand flying across the page and Jacob watches him, fascinated. Kevin can make the most fantastical things come to life so easily. It’s always been a wonderful thing to watch.

“I know you don’t want to hear it,” Kevin begins, his eyes never leaving his drawing. “But I’m sorry.”

“You’re right, I don’t want to hear it. You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“But I… he’s provoking me, angel. I hate it. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Kevin.” Jacob sits up, imploring Kevin to do the same. “I’m fine. Nothing has happened to me and nothing will. And even if it does, I will never blame you.”

“You wouldn’t have to.” Kevin’s voice is dry. “I would do it all for you.”

“I don’t want that either.” Jacob sighs, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t an ideal situation but I don’t want you to feel like it’s your fault. I’m fine.”

“But will you stay that way? If something happened to you, I don’t know what I would do.” Kevin glares down at his drawing, blinking away tears angrily. He won’t cry not now not now he  _ won’t cry _

“The world is bigger than just me. It doesn’t revolve-”

Kevin’s pencil splinters in his hand. “You’re  _ my  _ world, Jacob. All of you are and I’m not going to let some bastard ruin it all.”

It’s sweet that Kevin can say things like that without a second thought and Jacob’s heart flutters. But. “Nothing will happen-”

“You don’t know that, angel!”

Jacob pauses. This side of Kevin’s anger is different. With Hyunjoon and Haknyeon, it was loud and rash. It was a storm of words and actions, pulsing red. Now, it’s more sadness and frustration, cracking walls and pushing down fear. Jacob doesn’t know how to deal with this.

So first he merely takes the broken pencil from Kevin, tossing it onto the floor. The other lets him check his hand for any splinters before pulling away and glaring at the ground.

There’s no right way to deal with this so Jacob just does what he can.

“Kevin,” he begins softly, taking the other’s hand. “Please look at me.”

It takes a moment but Kevin shoves his sketchbook aside and meets Jacob’s eyes. Just that movement alone is enough encouragement.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m scared and I don’t want to lose any of you. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me. I’m terrified.”

“Jacob…”

“But I know things are going to turn out okay. Somehow. So please, don’t blame yourself and don’t give up on us. We’re going to take this on together, Kevin.”

Kevin doesn’t say anything, just hugs Jacob to him tightly as he lies back on the bed. Jacob’s cheek is right next to his heartbeat and it’s soothing.

“How do you always know what I need to hear?”

Jacob giggles quietly, letting it fade away. “I really don’t know.” He pauses for a minute, thinking. “We’re different people, so I don’t always know what you’re thinking. But I want to share all of it with you. Your sadness, your happiness, your fear.”

“Dammit, Jacob,” Kevin chokes out. He lazily trails one hand up and down Jacob’s arm, feeling slightly more at peace. Jacob did always have that effect.“I love you so much, angel.” 

“I love you too.”


	6. Chapter 6

“I think we’re being watched.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know, I just have a bad feeling.”

“Hmm.” Jacob looks around discreetly. No one is even glancing in their direction, much less watching them. They’re in a crowded part of downtown and everyone seems to blend together. It’s both a good and bad thing.

“How long have you thought that?”

Sunwoo pauses. It hadn’t been long but his gut had been warning him of something all day today. He feels on edge, wired and worried.

“I’ve felt weird all day. I think he’ll try something today.”

Jacob’s face darkens for a moment but then he smooths it out, not wanting for Sunwoo to worry even more.

In all honesty, he had felt something today too. It didn’t happen until they had already been out for an hour and he had hurried through the rest of their errands, anxious to get home.

“Let’s get back then.”

They take a different way home, winding through random streets and crossing through neighborhoods they usually passed. They’re careful to keep in busy areas, not wanting to be on their own for too long.

“I feel a little better,” Sunwoo admits once they’ve successfully gone in a circle. Hopefully the person watching them is confused or had fallen behind.

“Me too. We’ve had to have lost them by now.”

“Let’s cut through here,” Sunwoo suggests. It’s a short alley sandwiched between two storefronts. It leads to the next street and they can avoid the crosswalk that way. There’s a battered fence at the end that they can easily jump over, which leads into the backyard of an apartment complex.

It’s a little dark but Jacob follows Sunwoo. A few steps in however, and he feels his skin prickle. His gut is definitely telling him to get out of here.

“Sunwoo-”

A dark shadow appears out of nowhere and slams into Sunwoo, knocking them both to the ground. Sunwoo curses and attempts to shove the stranger off.

“What the hell?” He finally manages to disentangle himself and scrambles away, one arm raised protectively in front of Jacob.

The shadow rises to his feet. Peering closer, Sunwoo feels his stomach drop.

It’s Junkyu.

How did he find them? Are there others? Is he working alone? How is he supposed to protect Jacob now?

These questions race through his mind but Sunwoo scowls, trying to focus on what’s in front of him. Clear the mind, analyze and be emotional later.

“I told you we’d meet again, fucker,” he says, ignoring Jacob’s hiss. Swearing is important for Junkyu to take him seriously and as a threat. He can be babied all he wants behind the scenes but on the outside, Sunwoo is cold and hardened.

“It’s always you, isn’t it?” Junkyu counters. “I should’ve just made it easier on myself and gone after you instead.”

“You won’t touch him,” snarls Jacob. Sunwoo’s surprised; it’s the first time he has heard his hyung sound this angry. Those that are pushed until their breaking point are the scariest. He’d hate to be on the receiving end of Jacob’s rage.

Junkyu laughs, a sound from deep in his chest. It rattles Jacob’s bones and he resists the urge to take a step back. They don’t know if Junkyu’s alone or what weapons he has. Jacob doesn’t want to risk anything.

Finally Junkyu stops laughing and his face hardens. The air shifts.

“I’ll give you two options. One: you hand him over and no one gets hurt. Two: you don’t, you get hurt, and I take him anyway. I hope you chose the second one.”

“Or third option- I wipe the ground with your ass and no one takes hyung anywhere,” Sunwoo spits. Junkyu raises his eyebrows.

Sunwoo hates looking at Junkyu’s eyes- they’re devoid of anything. Even when he was laughing, it never reached his eyes. It’s like he’s looking at a corpse.

“Feisty.”

Sunwoo has one hand behind his back, holding up one finger. Jacob frowns; he’s going to tell him to run on the count of three. Jacob doesn’t want to leave Sunwoo to face Junkyu alone.

Another finger is raised. Jacob is wired tight, gut coiling. Sunwoo isn’t going to give him an option and this is no time to pull the hyung card. Sunwoo has been in many more situations like this and Jacob trusts him blindly.

But that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

The last finger.

“Run!” Sunwoo yells over his shoulder. In that split second, the man lands a punch on his cheek and Sunwoo staggers backwards.

Jacob bolts, reaching the end of the alley. No one is around right now, the time turning to early evening. The sky is a dusky rose above them. He chances a glance back, seeing Sunwoo holding his own for now.

“Shit shit shit…” His hands are shaking as he dials for help. Eric’s number comes up first and he presses it, heart aching when Sunwoo rushes back into the fight after falling.

“What’s up?”

“He’s here,” Jacob gets out. “Get Sangyeon, get the others. We-”

“Hyung!”

Jacob feels a sharp pain in his side and stumbles, dropping the phone. He hears Eric on the other end, asking what’s wrong but he can’t respond.

The phone is kicked out of his reach and he looks up to see Junkyu right in front of him. Sunwoo is lying on the ground, trying to get up.

“Run hyung!” he rasps out and Junkyu rolls his eyes.

“You really don’t shut up, do you?”

Jacob scrambles backwards but trips over his own feet. Junkyu pins him to the ground, knocking the breath out of him and Jacob gasps for air.

“Just what I was looking for.” He reaches to the side and picks up a brick. Jacob eyes it warily; that must’ve been what Junkyu had thrown at him before.

Junkyu uses one foot to restrain Jacob’s left wrist, his body weight keeping the other unable to move. Jacob tries to buck him off but he had never trained for this and can only struggle wildly.

“Stop moving!” Junkyu raises the brick and Jacob’s breath lurches in his chest.

He sees it happen before he feels it.

The brick smashes down on his hand and he screams in pain. It’s a white-hot flash and he feels tears well up in the corner of his eyes as agony ricochets up his arm.

“Get off of him!” Sunwoo lunges forward, taking Junkyu by surprise and Jacob slithers out of his reach. 

Carefully, he flexes his fingers. Nothing seems to be broken but they’re hella bruised already. He can barely curl them and bites his lip to keep from crying. The phone is still far away and he crawls towards it, hoping Eric is still on the line.

“Eric?”

“Oh my God hyung you’re okay, what’s happening? Is Sunwoo okay? We’re on our way-”

“Please hurry, Sunwoo-” he cuts himself off with a gasp when he sees Sunwoo heaved to the ground. He gets up, spitting blood out of his mouth and glaring daggers at Junkyu.

“It seems you’re better trained than I thought. Kevin wasn’t a good poster boy for you all.”

“Fuck off,” Sunwoo snarls. Jacob starts to back up slowly, Eric still talking. He can’t leave Sunwoo to fend for himself but he’s not much help in the fighting department, especially now with his hand. What can he do? Just the thought of leaving Sunwoo alone makes him feel sick.

“You’re not going anywhere.” Junkyu fishes his gun from his holster and points it right at Jacob, making him freeze. “I’m leaving with you even if I have to kill for it.”

“Hyung…” Sunwoo’s eyes dart back and forth. Junkyu will shoot with no hesitation, that much is certain. But since he hasn’t pulled the gun out until now, there’s a chance he doesn’t want to use it. Yet the second he moves, Junkyu may fire and just let Jacob bleed to death.

There are no good options here.

Jacob drops the phone. He can still hear Eric on the line but there’s no way they’re going to get here in time. If he doesn’t give in, Junkyu could kill Sunwoo and Jacob would rather die than let that happen.

“Come here,  _ angel. _ ”

The nickname feels repulsive coming from Junkyu. It takes everything in Jacob not to shudder. He takes a step forward, meeting Sunwoo’s eyes. 

Sunwoo looks torn. His chest is heaving and Jacob can see the gears turning in his head. But there isn’t a way out of this that Jacob hasn’t already thought of.

He takes another step.

“Hyung-”

“Sunwoo don’t-”

There’s a flash and a shot.

Sunwoo had thrown himself at Junkyu, tackling him to the ground. Surprised, Junkyu had gone down easy but the gun still goes off, grazing Sunwoo’s shoulder.

“Sunwoo!” Jacob screams, eyes going wide at the streak of blood. The two are now rolling around on the ground, each trying to have the upper hand. But Sunwoo is tired and even with the rush of adrenaline, Junkyu pins him down easily.

“Stupid boy,” he seethes and Sunwoo spits in his face. Even more enraged, Junkyu slaps him before getting up, stomping on his arm for good measure. Sunwoo feels like he’s going to throw up at the pain. Looks like the bullet nicked a little bit more than he thought.

“Please run, hyung,” he gets out. There’s no way he can protect Jacob any more. If this pain doesn’t kill him then Kevin surely will.

Jacob tries to run but Junkyu is faster and stronger and catches him around the waist. He kneels Jacob in the stomach, causing him to drop.

“Hyung!”

“You try one more thing and I’ll shoot him in the fucking face,” Junkyu promises. Jacob shakes his head frantically.

“Please don’t, I’ll go with you.” He cradles his wounded hand close to his chest, feeling nauseous. Blood is pouring from Sunwoo’s wound and every instinct is screaming to fix it. 

“There, was that so hard?”

“Jacob hyung!” Sunwoo tries to sit up but can only rise halfway. His arm feels like it’s on fire and blood is running down to the dirt.

Jacob gives him a sad smile. Even now, he’s trying to reassure and Sunwo resents it to the very core of his being.

“Look after Kevin for me.”

Junkyu slings an arm around Jacob’s throat, the other steadily training the gun on Sunwoo as he starts to walk backwards.

“Hyung!” Sunwoo drags himself forward a little bit but Jacob gives a subtle shake of the head. Tears prick at the corner of Sunwoo’s eyes and he wipes them away angrily, not noticing he’s smearing blood on his face as he does so.

“Hyung…”

They vanish into the shadows and Sunwoo is left alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...yeah.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long, I just started working on top of going to school so things have been going a mile a minute. I've definitely been inspired by the Stealer though! They already have stolen my heart but wbk.

The others find him only minutes later, rushing to his side.

“You’re hurt.” Younghoon’s hands flutter over him nervously, unsure where to start. He had never been good at patching people up but he has enough sense to take his jacket off and press it over Sunwoo’s gunshot wound.

“What happened?” Sangyeon squats down next to him. Changmin scopes out the premises, looking for more threats. Chanhee and Eric guard them at the opening to the alley but are unable to stop peeking behind them to see what’s going on.

Sunwoo feels the tears start to fall. “I’m sorry hyung, I’m sorry! He- he took hyung, he took-”

Kevin’s face darkens. “What?”

“He took Jacob hyung,” Sunwoo chokes out, every word like acid. “I couldn’t stop him, I tried! And Jacob hyung wouldn’t leave, he wouldn’t-” Sunwoo can’t speak, he can’t breathe. It’s all too much and he wishes he could die. Why didn’t Junkyu take him instead? Why did he take their sweet Jacob?

He leans to the side and heaves but only bile and blood come out and it just makes sucking in air that much harder.

“Sunwoo, you need to breathe.” Juyeon kneels in front of him. “Breathe with me- in, out. In, out.” Sunwoo follows the coaching but he’s still crying and bleeding and a terrible shitty mess.

“We need to get him back,” Younghoon says. “He’s going to bleed out.” He ties the jacket around Sunwoo’s arm. It’s not much but at the moment that’s all they can do.

“We need to go after them!” Sunwoo tries to stand but he can barely sit up. His eyes are blurry with tears and his breathing is still unsteady. “Jacob hyung, we need to-”

“We need to take care of you first, okay baby?” Kevin’s voice is incredibly soft and gentle and Sunwoo feels like shit. He shouldn’t be comforting him, Sunwoo ruined everything. He failed to protect Jacob and he got shot while doing it, what an fucking moron! Useless!

“Kevin hyung I’m sorry, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t save Jacob hyung, I’m so sorry,” he sobs and Kevin’s heart breaks. He’s still reeling from everything but first thing’s first- take care of Sunwoo. Jacob would never forgive him if he let anything happen to the younger.

“Shh baby, it’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t cry, it’s not your fault.”

“But I-”

“We need to get him back,” Juyeon says worriedly as Sunwoo begins gasping for air again. Sangyeon swings him up in his arms, careful not to jostle him too hard.

“Younghoon, get the car.”

As Younghoon rushes off, the others crowd around. Kevin is wiping the tears from Sunwoo’s face as lightly as he can. All he’s focused on now is keeping Sunwoo from breaking apart. He can worry about his own shattered pieces later.

Chanhee and Changmin are holding hands, both faces streaked with tears. Eric is trying to hide his hiccups as he cries quietly in Juyeon’s arms. Hyunjoon stands apart from them, hugging himself to try and keep everything together.

Younghoon pulls up and they all pile in, anxious to get out of that place as soon as possible. Sunwoo’s blood stains the ground as they pull away, a terrible reminder.

Except for Sunwoo’s soft crying, the ride back is silent. 


	8. Chapter 8

“It’s not neat, but it’ll get the job done.” Younghoon tries to smile but it’s strained. Sunwoo looks down at the stitching. It’s not a pretty sight but from what he’s learned after all these years is that something small like this won’t leave much of a scar.

“Thanks hyung.”

“Yeah.” Younghoon starts to throw away the bloodstained gauze as Sunwoo watches. His throat feels dry and eyes puffy from all the crying. It still feels like it’s hard to breathe but he swallows it back, knowing he has to keep things under control. Sobbing again won’t get anything done. 

Hyunjoon silently hands him a cup of water, which he accepts and almost drains the whole thing in one go. It makes him feel a little better but the stinging in his arm and the pain in his heart won’t go anywhere.

“You guys can come in now,” Younghoon invites. They had decided to keep in the medical room, not wanting to move Sunwoo quite yet.

The rest of the group files in quietly, filling in the seats around the room and sitting on the floor. Sunwoo can’t meet anyone’s eyes, focusing only on the blanket’s pattern. He feels like a cornered animal.

Sangyeon speaks first. “How do you feel, baby?” 

Sunwoo shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt much.” A lie. It stings like a bitch and even with the pain meds, he can still feel a throb every time he breathes.

“I’m glad.”

“Mm.” Sunwoo knows he needs to talk about what happened but he feels like if he does, he’s going to either burn up from the rage or break down in sadness.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Kevin is completely still, hands clasped together to keep from punching something. His eyes are gentle when they look at Sunwoo however, and it makes the younger feel a little better.

“He… cornered us. A surprise attack. I told Jacob hyung to run but-” Sunwoo’s breath hitches. “He wouldn’t leave me. I couldn’t hold Junkyu off. I wasn’t enough.” The bullet wound hurts less than admitting that out loud.

“And then he… he threatened hyung. And I couldn’t stop it. And he shot me and then he took hyung and I couldn’t fucking do anything.” Sunwoo’s blood boils just thinking about it and he wants nothing more than that bastard’s head at his feet.

“This isn’t your fault,” Haknyeon says, reading the obvious tone. It’s better to address it straight out than for them to dance around it. “You did what you could.”

“It could’ve been more,” replies Sunwoo bitterly.

“You got shot! I think that’s more than enough.”

“No one blames you,” Changmin says. “Especially Jacob hyung. If he were here-”

“Well he’s not and it’s because of me,” snaps Sunwoo. Changmin scowls but takes a deep breath. They’re all going to get emotional now and fighting won’t solve anything.

“You tried your best,” Hyunjoon says quietly. “You can’t save everyone all the time.”

Kevin tenses. Jacob has said that time and time again. And each one goes a little deeper, hurts a little more.

“We’re just glad you’re okay,” Hyunjae says. “We wouldn’t be able to-”  _ handle losing both of you. _

The unspoken words hover in the air.

Sunwoo wants to scream at them.  _ Why didn’t you come sooner? Why didn’t you save him?  _ He wants to scream at himself.  _ Why weren’t you enough? Why didn’t  _ you  _ save him? _

But he can’t and merely slumps back in his seat.

“We’re going to get him back.” Ever the optimist, Eric tries to smile. All he really wants to do is curl up into a ball and cry but he tries to hold it together. Jacob had been strong for them so many times before; he has to return the favor.

“But how?” Chanhee asks. “We don’t know anything.”

“We know more than we think,” Younghoon speaks up. All eyes are on him, waiting.

Hyunjae tilts his head. “What do you mean?”

Right now, the only thing keeping Younghoon together is logic. “What does Junkyu want more than anything?”

“Revenge,” Changmin answers honestly. Younghoon nods.

“And why does he want it?”

Hyunjoon’s voice is small. “To hurt Kevin hyung.”

“Right. He wants revenge to hurt Kevin. And taking Jacob isn’t enough. He doesn’t want to just know Kevin is suffering, he wants to see it.”

“I don’t know how this is helping,” Haknyeon mutters but Sangyeon shushes him, things starting to come together.

“No, this makes sense. Keep going.”

Younghoon looks pleased for a moment but then turns somber once more. “He has left us messages this whole time. It was like a game to him.”

“And games always have a big finish,” Eric chimes in. Younghoon points at him.

“Exactly. Games have a big finish. I think he’ll give us an opportunity to get Jacob back.”

“Like a final round,” suggests Juyeon. “A fight?”

“I think he’ll bait us.” Hyunjae looks over at Kevin, who is wound tight. “Or at least, Kevin hyung. He’ll want us to come looking for him.”

“And when it’s just us against him-” starts Younghoon.

“We can get hyung back!” Eric finishes excitedly. 

Sangyeon snaps his fingers. “You know, that just might work.” There’s a quiet thrumming in the room that not all hope is lost.

“But then isn’t it just more of a waiting game?” Chanhee hates to bring the mood down but he’s had enough of these damn games. “For him to come to us?”

“I don’t think it’ll take long.” Kevin stares straight ahead, bouncing his leg. One thought at a time. There’s no big picture. One thought. “He’ll want the suffering to start as soon as possible. He was never good at being patient.”

“So we just...wait?” Changmin looks around the room. There are varying degrees of grief and guilt and sadness but there’s an undertone of hope too.

“I’ll start looking right away,” Juyeon promises. “There’s no way this bastard’s getting away a third time.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Sangyeon pats Juyeon’s shoulder. “The rest of us research, rest up, do what we need to do. We’ll wait for him to come to us but we’ll be preparing as much as we can. There’s no way this isn’t ending in a fight.”

“Hell yeah!” Hyunjae exclaims. “That’s what I like to hear!”

“For now though, we’ll do what we can. Juyeon, start monitoring. Hyunjae, you, Haknyeon, and I are going back to the scene to see if we can dig anything up. See if he left anything behind. I don’t want any of you leaving this house until I say so, got it?”

There’s an affirmative hum from around the room. Noticing Sunwoo’s eyes are dropping, Sangyeon calls the meeting to a close. After they all go their separate ways, he can grieve in peace but right now, they have a job to do.

As everyone starts to leave the room, Sunwoo calls for Kevin to stay.

“What’s up, baby? Do you need anything?”

“Hyung,” Sunwoo starts out nervously. Kevin is looking at him with soft eyes and it makes him feel like total shit. He doesn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be-”

“I know. But I am. I said I would protect Jacob hyung and I failed.”

Kevin sighs. He can’t have Sunwoo feeling guilty now. It’s a never ending circle of guilt and fear and anger and he wants out. It’s hurt too many of his friends now; he won’t let it ruin anything more.

“I can’t stop you from feeling guilty, just like I can’t stop myself from thinking I caused this. It’s all my fault we’re in this mess in the first place.”

“But-”

“But just use that to spur you on. I can’t forgive myself, even if everyone else does. But Sunwoo, baby…” Kevin doesn’t know what to say next. Jacob was always much better at these things. “Just know that it’s not your fault. I don’t think it, none of the others do, and Jacob certainly doesn’t.”

Sunwoo feels like he could cry all over again. “He told me to look after you.”

A side of Kevin’s mouth quirks. “Typical.” Always thinking of others, even in situations like these. Sometimes Kevin really hates him.

Sunwoo’s hand reaches for Kevin’s uncurling the fist gently. He frowns at the marks on Kevin’s palms from digging his nails into his skin.

“We’ll get him back. If it’s the last thing we do.”

Kevin manages a half-smile. “It better not be. If Jacob knows I got you guys hurt trying to rescue him, he’d kill me himself.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays! Thank you for loving this story for so long<3

Kevin cries in the shower.

He washed off the dirt and blood and then just stood there for the next twenty minutes.

This was exactly what he was afraid of. He knew it, he fucking knew it, but it happened anyway. He let it happen.

No matter what he told Sunwoo, the guilt is eating him alive. There’s no one left to blame but himself.

He knows Jacob would hate this sort of talk but now he’s not there to work him through it. No, Kevin has to handle this alone.

It’s a good thing he’s in the shower and the water is mixing in with his tears. He doesn’t think he’s ever cried this much.

It started out as anger, seeing Sunwoo bleeding and lying in the dirt, but then it changed to just absolute  _ rage  _ when the younger started crying. Sunwoo shouldn’t have to go through this; none of them should. It’s Kevin’s own damn fault for slipping up and letting Junkyu get away. He has no one to blame except himself.

And bringing the rest of the members into the line of fire hurts like a bitch. Not one of them deserve it and if Kevin had his own way, he would face Junkyu alone. No one else would be hurt that way.

They won’t let him, he knows that much. And the logical part of him knows there’s no way he can finish this on his own. But  _ God _ , does he want to.

Finally the hot water has turned cold and he steps out of the shower, skin feeling completely rubbed raw. Toweling off quickly and changing into sweats, he takes a look in the mirror.

He already looks like a mess and it’s been mere hours. If they don’t get Jacob back soon, he’s going to turn into a total skeleton.

Making his way out of the bathroom, he drops by the screening room. Juyeon is slouched in the chair, eyes trained on the monitor in front of him. Younghoon is asleep on the small recliner in the corner of the room, curled around a pillow. He had insisted on keeping Juyeon company.

“How’s it going?”

“Nothing yet.” Juyeon doesn’t look away from the screen. “I wish we had more of a starting point.”

“Me too.” Kevin glances at the biggest screen, right in the middle. It’s from earlier today, before everything went to hell. Jacob and Sunwoo come into the frame for a second, Jacob laughing at something the younger said.

Kevin’s jaw tightens.

“Get some sleep, Kevin,” says Juyeon, even though both of them know that likely won’t be happening.

“You too. You can’t stay up all night.”

Juyeon smiles but it doesn’t meet his eyes. “Maybe.”

Kevin bids goodnight and continues to his room. He drops by one bedroom, spotting Eric sleeping with Sunwoo for tonight. They both look so worn out, dried tear tracks visible, and Kevin’s heart aches. He’s never letting anything happen to them ever again.

Changmin had crawled into Chanhee’s bed and they are wrapped around each other, as if afraid one will be taken in their sleep. Kevin turns on the tiny butterfly night light in the corner before he closes the door.

Sangyeon, Hyunjae, and Haknyeon aren’t back yet. Kevin sends Sangyeon a text to let him know when they’re on their way home. He keeps a lamp on in the living room so the house isn’t dark.

Once he finally gets to his bedroom, he sees Hyunjoon perched on his bed. “I was lonely,” he admits shyly.

Kevin smiles tiredly. “Me too.” He pulls the covers back, letting Hyunjoon settle in next to him. The younger’s ankle is pretty much healed up and it reminds Kevin of how long this has been going on.

They’re quiet for a few moments. Kevin thanks his lucky stars that he has Hyunjoon in bed with him to keep him tethered to reality; otherwise he has no idea how he would even fall asleep.

He’s exhausted emotionally and mentally but not enough to pass out. His body feels like it’s been hit by a truck and his eyes hurt from the strain and the crying. There’s a headache too, that won’t go away. It accompanies his heartache.

There’s a never-ending flow of thoughts of how Jacob’s doing right now. Is he okay? Is Junkyu leaving him alone or torturing him? How will he survive the night?  _ Will  _ he survive the night?

Kevin doesn’t realize he’s crying again until Hyunjoon gently brushes away a stray tear.

“It’s okay to cry,” he says softly when Kevin jerks back, attempting to hide his misery. “You don’t have to hold it in. Crying isn’t weak.”

Kevin can’t respond, just cries harder. Burying his face in his hands, he takes a deep, gasping breath. A shard of ice in his throat makes swallowing hard. He thought he didn’t have any tears left inside him but apparently he was wrong.

Hyunjoon lets him cry, one hand trailing up and down Kevin’s back in hopes of bringing some comfort.

If anything, Kevin’s glad he broke down in front of Hyunjoon instead of one of the others. Eric would’ve talked to distract him and Sunwoo would’ve freaked out and Haknyeon would’ve started crying with him.

Finally Kevin feels his sobs start to slow and he reaches blindly for the nightstand, grabbing a tissue. He dabs at his face and blows his nose and Hyunjoon just continues to try and soothe him.

“Thanks, baby.”

Hyunjoon nods. “You don’t have to be strong all the time, hyung.”

“Since when were you so wise?” Kevin tries to joke but it gets caught in his throat because that’s something just so… Hyunjoon. How had his baby grown up so fast?

“I’ve gotten older.” Hyunjoon smiles sadly. “You have to learn some bad things along with the good.”

Kevin’s had many hard lessons in his life but none as much as this. People grow up too fast, see things they shouldn’t have to see, and go through shit that should never happen.

But Hyunjoon is taking it so well and Kevin can say he’s proud.

If Jacob were here, he would be too.


	10. Chapter 10

Changmin doesn’t even bother knocking. He dives into Chanhee’s bed while the other is still meandering around, getting the room tidy. It’s an odd habit but Chanhee always feels the need to clean when he’s distressed. This time is no different.

The lights are dimmed and Chanhee had insisted the door be closed. There’s a small pile of shirts on the end of his bed that Changmin avoids, hugging one of the numerous stuffed animals.

“How are you feeling?” Changmin watches as Chanhee starts to organize his closet by colors. It never lasts.

“You know.” Chanhee decides he doesn’t like starting with black and begins the process over with white instead.

“Yeah, me too,” Changmin sighs, snuggling deeper into the covers. It’s silent between them except for the soft sound of clothes being shuffled around.

Soon Chanhee loses interest in his closet and starts to make Eric’s bed. The youngest isn’t coming back tonight, wanting to be with Sunwoo instead. It’s a sweet gesture; Sunwoo would hate being cooped up in the medical room all alone.

There are so many plushies and pillows and it reminds him once again, just how young Eric is. How young they all are. And how people this young shouldn’t be worrying about their friends dying at any given moment.

“Chanhee.” Changmin’s voice breaks through like music and Chanhee doesn’t realize a couple tears dripped down his cheek.

“Come here.”

And Chanhee does, letting Changmin wrap him in the blankets and warmth and love. Their legs are tangled together as they lie facing each other, sharing the same pillow.

“I feel terrible too,” Changmin admits. He had always been better at talking through his feelings. “I found the picture. I knew he was going to try something and I still let it happen.”

“Don’t.” Chanhee’s heart clenches. “Don’t do this to yourself. He was going to get hyung no matter what.”

“Do you believe that for yourself too?”

There’s a pause.

“I just feel so sad,” confesses Chanhee after a few moments. “And we need to keep it together for the kids too but I don’t think I can.”

“You’re a kid too.”

“Not like them. They don’t deserve to go through this and-”

“And you do?”

Chanhee closes his eyes, as if to block out Changmin’s words. “Please, Changmin. I just want…” To grieve? To forget? To let go? He doesn’t know what.

“We’re going to get hyung back.” 

“You’re so positive.”

Changmin’s smile is strained. “It gets you through a lot better than being negative, I’ve learned.” He tucks the blankets around Chanhee’s shoulders, hating seeing his friend like this. “But for now, you don’t need to hold it in. It’s just us.”

They cry in each other’s arms. It’s been so long since they’ve cried; Changmin can’t even remember the last time. He thinks it was maybe when he broke his arm last year but that was in his control. He hasn’t cried from something like this in awhile. 

Chanhee hums, dabbing at Changmin’s tears with the edge of the blanket. He feels a little better. Guess a good crying session was in order to get everything out.

Now he feels more determined, able to think clearly and logically. The others may make fun of him for thinking with his heart instead of his head but in all actuality, Chanhee is the most sensible. His brain works in lists and numbers. He just needs to get the emotions out of the way first before he can focus.

“Do you feel better?” he asks and Changmin taps his nose.

“I was going to ask you that.”

“Well I asked it first.”

“Yeah. A little. Now I’m just mad.”

“Get in line and take a number,” Chanhee mumbles. “I’m ready to kick some ass.”

“Can we kick ass in a few hours? Crying makes me tired. And of course, worried about Jacob hyung and Kevin hyung and just… everyone.”

“I’m worried about them too.” Chanhee knows Kevin is having probably the worst night of his life, kicking himself and swearing up and down. He hopes he’s not alone tonight; it won’t be good to have Kevin alone with his thoughts.

“Hyunjoonie was going to talk to him,” says Changmin, like he’s reading Chanhee’s mind. “They’re good together, those two. If anyone can make hyung feel better, it’s him.”

“You’re right.”

“Tomorrow’s a new day. Everything will work out.”

Chanhee hopes he’s right about that too.


	11. Chapter 11

Haknyeon rubs at his temples, letting out a sigh. He’s alone in the lab right now, everyone else having gone to bed already. Sangyeon had told him he didn’t have to look for anything right now, knowing they all needed sleep, but Haknyeon had brushed him off.

“It’ll keep me busy,” he had said and Sangyeon had read between the lines.  _ If I don’t work on this, I’m going to lose it. _

So here he is, a couple hours later in the dead of night. They had gotten some samples from the ground, the dirt, the walls. There hadn’t been any DNA other than Jacob and Sunwoo’s.

Of course. Junkyu isn’t an amateur. Haknyeon should’ve expected it but he had still had some hope.

So now he’s sifting through the other samples they got. There was a brick splattered with blood that he now knows is Jacob’s. He doesn’t even want to know what happened to cause that.

Haknyeon is even looking at the clothes Sunwoo had worn, just in case Junkyu had left a trace of  _ anything.  _ But so far all he’s gotten is negative.

The room feels like it’s suffocating him. It’s a wide space and now Haknyeon feels tiny. Alone. Jacob is gone.

Jacob is gone.

“Come on Haknyeon, pull yourself together,” Haknyeon hisses through gritted teeth. He is  _ not  _ going to break down now. He needs to keep going, to find something,  _ anything _ , that will get them Jacob back.

“Get it together, get it together…” His vision is becoming blurry from the tears but he rubs his eyes so hard, he sees stars. The tears stop.

It’s still hard to see but at least he isn’t crying.

There’s a beep.

Haknyeon looks up. He’s running tests on the dirt samples now, seeing if Junkyu had dropped anything or had stepped in something that could give them a possible lead to where he is.

And it looks like he’s found something.

Leaping up from his seat, he runs to the monitor. Amongst the regular soil they had picked up, it looks like something else had mixed up with it.

He blinks rapidly, trying to clear his eyes enough that he can see. Looking closer, his brain becomes a question mark.

Red clay?

Haknyeon quirks an eyebrow. Where is there red clay in Seoul? It’s usually found in deserts or specific mountain ranges. Where would Junkyu be if there’s red clay? He can’t be far, especially since he’s been keeping an eye on them for a long time. He has to be somewhat close by.

“Red clay, red clay,” Haknyeon hums to himself. He types a few things into the search bar but nothing comes up. “Red clay… red… hong… Hongdo! Wait that can’t be right.” Hongdo Island is much too popular for Junkyu to be able to get in and out easily. It’s mostly nature too, so there’s no way he could have a base there unnoticed.

“Fuck.” But then Haknyeon pauses. He may be on the right track. Junkyu would go to an island where no one can find him but is still close by, hard to get to but accessible. Someplace he wouldn’t be disturbed. Someplace… lonely. 

“I got it!” He races out of the lab, making his way to the screening room. Juyeon will be up all night, he knows that much, and luckily that’s the one person he needs.

He bursts into the room. “Hyung!”

Juyeon is startled, almost jumping in his seat. “Haknyeon, what-”

“Do you have any eyes near the docks to the west? Where people usually leave for the islands?”

“Yeah?” Juyeon pulls them up quickly, setting the time back to right after the attack. Haknyeon watches impatiently. 

“Did we find something?” Younghoon yawns, sitting up. Haknyeon doesn’t even spare him a glance. If he’s wrong, Haknyeon doesn’t want everyone knowing about it. It may break them even worse a second time.

They watch the monitor for about twenty minutes. No one wants to break the fragile silence, the slight hope Haknyeon had brought.

Just as Haknyeon is going to give up, there’s movement in the corner. A boat chugs along slowly, stopping at the end of the dock. Minutes later, a car pulls up. A group of people get out.

Juyeon adjusts the brightness and zooms in as much as he can.

The car drives away and the small group heads for the boat. Haknyeon counts about six. One stumbles and someone else shoves him along.

“It’s them,” Younghoon breathes. Juyeon’s eyes don’t leave the screen. When the distant light of a lighthouse sweeps over the dock, they can finally make out Jacob’s clothes from earlier- a black shirt with white lettering down the sleeve.

The group makes their way onto the boat and moments later, the boat starts to move. They watch it until the camera can go no further.

“They’re leaving Korea,” Juyeon says, distressed.

Haknyeon shakes his head. “No. They’re going to Jukdo.”

“Jukdo?”

“I found the clay from Jukdo on his shoes. His base must be there and that’s where he’s taking Jacob hyung.”

Younghoon laughs, disbelieving and relief all at once. “You’re a genius, baby.”

The compliment makes Haknyeon’s heart flutter but he brushes it off. “Only sometimes.”

Juyeon quickly saves the video and then sets it to present time. “I doubt they’d come back but we can keep up surveillance anyhow.”

“And we now know he has some backup.” Younghon frowns at the screen, gripping the back of Juyeon’s chair. “We won’t be taking on just him.”

Haknyeon waves it away. “That’s fine, I need an outlet for my anger.” He needs to get back at Junkyu for the impromptu dive in the ocean. Or one of Junkyu’s underlings; he’s not picky.

“I think we’re all going to need that,” agrees Juyeon. The bags under his eyes are already prominent and he’s only been up for nineteen hours. He’s losing his touch.

Younghoon manages a small smile. “Besides reuniting with Jacob hyung, we’ll get to kick some ass too. Something to look forward to.”

Haknyeon feels some tension leave his shoulders. They have a start. They can come up with a plan. Not everything is lost.

“Let’s get you to bed, you look like you’re going to fall asleep on your feet,” coaxes Younghoon. Only now can Haknyeon feel the exhaustion settle in his bones. He blinks and it’s like he’s underwater. Sleep is definitely in order.

“Yeah, okay.”

Younghoon pats the younger’s head and looks over at Juyeon. “When I get back, we’re going to switch.”

“I can do it,” protests Juyeon.

“Nope, not allowed. I just took a nap. Haknyeonnie will go to bed and then I’ll come here and keep watch and you sleep.”

“But-”

“I’m pulling the hyung card on you, Juyeon.” Younghoon wraps an arm around Haknyeon’s shoulders, intent on seeing him to bed before they continue.

Juyeon scowls half-heartedly as they leave but can’t help his lips turning into a small smile.

They’re going to save Jacob.


End file.
